What is it that makes the perfect SPS system? Replicable on any scale, be it 10 litres or 10 gallons, what are the fundamental principles that all successful SPS tanks share? I was wondering about this question in a bid to figure out how I could refine a successful SPS tank to its bare bones and design the most simple and minimalistic but effective system to sustain SPS in the long term.
What makes the perfect SPS system?
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X-37B
Fight The Good Fight
Agree! Feed the fish not the corals.
MelReefer
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Crustaceon
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What a lot of people don’t realize is that when we say “stability” we mean don’t constantly jack with your tank to keep a specific number. I’d MUCH rather have my alk slowly shift between 7.8 to 8.3 and back over the course of a month then have a daily .1 dkh drop turn into a .5 dkh spike because I wanted it exactly at 8 and dosed a little bit too much to get it there. Even with a dosing pump, my alk/calcium/mag wanders over time and typically needs adjustment. But I NEVER make large enough adjustment that will immediately snap my parameters right back to where I want them. I add one or two mls here and there on the dosing pump schedule and allow my parameters to very slowly creep back up over the course of a week. If you’re keeping sps and especially acropora, don’t think in terms of days. Think in terms of weeks, if not months.
X-37B
Fight The Good Fight
Agree, I should have said pick your range of parameters and keep them within your established range.
Crustaceon
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I think part of it is people who like to brag about how stable their systems are and how their numbers never change, which gives the community a sense that this is what you have to do. In reality, it’s not cruise control and most of us still regularly check our numbers and make “course corrections” on the coral journey. Stability isn’t maintaining one speed on the road. It’s just staying ON the road and not overusing the gas and brake.
X-37B
Fight The Good Fight
For me stability is staying in my desired range of parameters.
I should have also said test, test, and retest, as I tend to test more than most imo.
Testing lets you to see what your tank is doing in real time. I also run no controller sysyem even on my carx.
Also you can ask a question here and get several different answers which is hard for new reefers looking for help.
Crustaceon
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I see it exactly the same way. There’s no harm in testing and seeing where your tank is going well before it’s at place that you don’t want it to be. Giving your system a slight nudge in the right direction is far gentler on sensitive corals like sps than making large changes, even if they’re made to achieve “perfect” water quality.
Crustaceon
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I typically test my alk every other day. Salinity gets a daily check because that’s a freebie using a refractometer. Calcium and mag are checked weekly. Nitrates and phosphates weekly. My reefkeeper constantly displays temp and ph, so that’s easy enough, but I do still check those monthly with a ph test and calibrated thermometer to make sure the probes are working correctly.
This is a tricky question. Do you mean the ability to keep ANY acropora and have it thrive, or are you willing to have some more difficult ones for an easier upkeep on the rest - what is "perfect?"
If you want to be able to keep any acropora at any time, then you truly need NSW type water parameters - low residual values of N and P with massive throughput (heavy import and heavy export). Many will thrive with higher levels or N, P and carbonate, but not all.
Real biodiversity is pretty critical - I do not mean bacteria in a bottle, but microfauna, starfish, all types of pods (not just the ones that come in a bottle), sponges, etc. Great coverage lights. Time. Patience. Knowledge and not just information - yes, there is a difference.
My works-anywhere recipe that will work on any system is quite simple... real live rock fresh from the ocean, 2-3 inches of sand, heavy skimming, metal halide and calcium reactor. Fuge if you have room. ...good in a few months and excellent in a year.
If you want to be able to keep any acropora at any time, then you truly need NSW type water parameters - low residual values of N and P with massive throughput (heavy import and heavy export). Many will thrive with higher levels or N, P and carbonate, but not all.
Real biodiversity is pretty critical - I do not mean bacteria in a bottle, but microfauna, starfish, all types of pods (not just the ones that come in a bottle), sponges, etc. Great coverage lights. Time. Patience. Knowledge and not just information - yes, there is a difference.
My works-anywhere recipe that will work on any system is quite simple... real live rock fresh from the ocean, 2-3 inches of sand, heavy skimming, metal halide and calcium reactor. Fuge if you have room. ...good in a few months and excellent in a year.
Crustaceon
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Natural seawater chemistry is an “iffy” thing IMO. If you had a water tower full of natural seawater and constantly pumped it through your tank, it would probably work. But the elements in NSW are so depleted that we generally have to fortify it with additional alk/cal/mg, or in the case of zeovit.... a little bit of everything using little droppers. Zeo tanks are rad.
Crustaceon
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I had a local reefer trade me an acro frag yesterday and he noticed an amphipod was in the bag and crawling around on the frag. I told him not to worry because it would be joining the 18 thousand other amphipods in my tank.
My acro talks to me. Everyday, i spend some time to look and listens to all my acro. Each will tell me how they’re doing and what they need. The colorful one always reaching out long polyps are telling me they’re happy. The brown one complained that its not getting enough light and need a bit more flow because its growing too thin. Few are frustrated because they’re annoyed by little bugs bugging them. Then there are the anorexic one that didnt take their calcium and carbonate so they have brittle bones that break easy. And some are depress and committed suicide over night.
I try my best every day to listen to them all. There’s no such thing as perfect parent(s) but the effort is valuable.
I try my best every day to listen to them all. There’s no such thing as perfect parent(s) but the effort is valuable.
